Dr. Mamie Lau, Founder and Director of RadHealth, said, “In my health talks, many in the audience are concerned about the radiation levels in Hong Kong. They are interested in measuring the radiation in their environs, as well as the global mapping system, a unique feature of the bGeigie Nano, a mobile, geo-tagged, logging sensor of radiation developed by Safecast *. Users can submit their mobile radiation measurements to the Safecast dataset for inclusion in an online global mapping system developed by Safecast with MIT Media Lab.”

With the bGeigie, volunteers can upload data, time, GPS, and altitude to build a global network of interactive radiation maps, and anyone can freely access the data.

Dr. Lau continued, “Now Safecast does not sell ready-made bGeigies, they only conduct workshops to teach people build them. So it’s high time to organize bGeigie assembly workshops here in Hong Kong.”

The most direct way is to invite Safecast to come to Hong Kong to conduct the workshops. RadHealth (輻射生機學會), a Hong Kong-based Non-Profit Organization, was thus formed to organize these workshops. It was registered as a Society on 31 July 2015.

As various types of pollution beset our environment, Radhealth does not only address the problem of radiation. It is also concerned about the harm caused by pollution, such as heavy metals, inorganic and organic pollutants, and is ready to provide information on mitigation measures, services such as measurement of radiation, scheme for analyses of toxics in food and products, care work, talks and workshops to help people enhance their natural immune power and achieve vibrant health.

Ever increasing pollution has led to the accumulation of toxins in the air we breathe in, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Notable examples are the scandal of lead in potable water in Hong Kong in 2015 and USA (Flint in Michigan and Sebring in Ohio) in 2016. Environmental pollution has also led to the bioaccumulation of mercury in seafood. Pregnant women are advised to consume fish (for Omega 3) for the health of their babies, and mothers are encouraged to breast feed, while mercury is unwittingly passed from the mother to the baby.

Both lead and mercury are neurotoxins, affecting the development and behaviour of children who are particularly vulnerable. Even at very low levels, these toxins can cause developmental disorders, with mental retardation, hearing loss, retarded growth, learning disabilities, and behavioural and emotional disorders. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2014, 1 in 68 children in the US had been identified with autism spectrum disorder. This figure was on the rise, as it was up by 30% since 2012.

* Safecast is a global volunteer-centered citizen science project working to empower people with transparent, credible and accurate data about their environments. Safecast takes no political stance, neither pro-nuclear nor anti-nuclear.